


for beautiful you are my world,my true

by praesaepe



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Christmas, Dogs, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-19 19:10:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13130175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/praesaepe/pseuds/praesaepe
Summary: They'd been together for over a year and a half now, but Jesse hadn't realized until now just how much Hanzo liked dogs.





	for beautiful you are my world,my true

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Valpur](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valpur/gifts).



> Secret Santa gift for [Valpur](http://valpur.tumblr.com/)! The prompt was "surprise puppy gift" and I absolutely could not resist, and also gained some new headcanons for Hanzo because of it. It's the Snack Pouch, guys. You'll get what I mean. Merry Christmas Val!!!  
> Title is from ["i carry your heart with me(i carry it in" by e e cummings](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/49493/i-carry-your-heart-with-mei-carry-it-in)  
> Beta read by [astrotheology](http://astrotheology.tumblr.com/), as usual. Merry Christmas to you too, Abby <3 <3 <3

A sudden burst of static crackled over the comms. Not unusual, given their quality; it wasn’t like Overwatch had the funding they did in previous years, still being an illegal organization and all. Abrasive as it was, the static usually heralded a message, so Jesse pause next to a park bench and tilted his head as if that would give him better reception. His partner in crime for this mission was Hanzo, and Jesse was always happy to hear from the archer.

“Ī ko, ī ko.” The words, though muttered, came in clear enough. Jesse frowned. He had worked with Genji for years, and been with Hanzo for over a year and a half at this point, but his grasp on Japanese was not the best. It wasn’t as if hadn’t tried, but his brain had long passed the age in which it was elastic enough to pick up on new languages easily.

“Uh, Han? I can’t understand what you’re saying,” Jesse replied. The muttering stopped and the line was silent for a moment before Hanzo replied.

“I apologize. I was not aware my comm was on. It wasn’t important, I promise.” Jesse could hear a tinge of embarrassment in Hanzo’s tone.

“Now you got me curious, though. What were you saying? We got nothing to do right now, and you know I appreciate the occasional Japanese lesson, darlin’,” Jesse said affectionately. There was no response. “Please?” Another crackle of static that might’ve been a sigh came through.

“It means ‘good boy,’” Hanzo said quietly. “A woman passed by walking her dog and allowed me to pet him. It has been a… long time since I pet a dog.” The hesitance as he spoke told Jesse volumes, even as it said nothing at all. Now wasn’t the time to question him, though, so Jesse turned to what he thought was best - humor.

“Aw, damn, you got to pet a dog? All I got here is some snooty folks giving me glares as they pass by. Not a dog in sight. If you see him again tell him I love him, you got it?” Hanzo chuckled.

“I will most assuredly do so.” The line went quiet again. Jesse shifted from foot to foot before sitting heavily on the nearby bench.

“What’d he look like?”

“We are on a mission, Jesse.” Hanzo’s reprimand had no bite.

“I’m not seeing much going on, darlin’. I’m sure we can keep an eye out and talk about dogs at the same time. Please?” Jesse thrust his lip out in a pout, even if Hanzo couldn’t see him.

“You’re pouting, aren’t you?”

“Me, pout? Never.” There was a moment of silence in which Jesse could feel Hanzo’s incredulous look across the line. “Ok. Maybe.” Hanzo laughed again. It was contagious, and Jesse began laughing as well.

“I’ll indulge you, just to stop your pouting.” Jesse grinned.

“Ok, let’s start with the basics. What breed?”  
“I hardly have categorical knowledge of all dog-”

“Okay, big dog or a tiny little yippy thing?”

“Big, long fur.”

“Oh, please tell me he had the fluffiest, chubbiest cheeks ever.”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.” Jesse barely stifled a laugh in response. “Imagine, if you will, a marshmallow…”

 

\--

 

What was  _ supposed _ to be a quiet mission had turned into a shootout in front of the Basilica Cathedral in Arequipa, Peru - civilians scattered in all different directions, trying to avoid the crossfire. Hanzo had started up on the second floor on the western side of the structure surrounding the plaza, but as his arrows had started to run out and the chaos kept him from clear shots, he had been forced to fall back and join Jesse on the ground. Backup was on the way in the form of Genji, Hana, and Angie, but for now, they were surrounded and on their own. If Jesse were to describe it in  _ official  _ military terms, he’d probably go with FUBAR.

“Han, how you holding up?” Jesse yelled behind him. He held onto his hat and took a few more shots, watching the men on the receiving end fall to the ground.

“I’m not replenishing my store of arrows quickly enough,” Hanzo said through gritted teeth. He let out a huff of exertion as another arrow found its way between the eyes of another attacker. “I’m afraid I won’t be of much use at range soon.” Jesse tried not to let out a groan of frustration as he downed a few more attackers and used a quick reloader to fill up Peacekeeper again.

“I’ll hold ‘em off as best I can, but we’re in a bit of a sticky situation here.”  
“I am aware,” Hanzo said through gritted teeth. 

Jesse put a finger to his ear and activated the comm. “Please tell me y’all are close,” he said, punctuating his sentence with a gunshot.

“Just hold on a few more minutes, McCree. We’re coming as fast as we can,” Genji’s voice replied.

“If you could go faster-” Jesse’s reply was interrupted by a nearby yelp. He barely had time to react before something large and furry darted out from under a nearby bench and dove between his legs towards a bush, leash trailing behind it. “What the hell?” A couple of attackers further back saw the dog leaping for the bush and took a few potshots at it, laughing. “Are those bastards shooting at a  _ dog? _ ”

“Which ones?” Hanzo snarled. 

“My 4 o’clock. I’m a bit busy to handle them right now,” Jesse replied, throwing a flashbang to stun an approaching assailant before putting a bullet in his head.

“Leave them to me.” Jesse had heard Hanzo angry before. Those first few months he’d been on base, when he was still trying to reconnect with Genji, there had been fights. Sometimes it was yelling, but the really terrifying moments had been hearing Hanzo’s low, furious tones spit in Genji’s face. The tension in any room that was witness to  _ that _ was always palpable, thick as molasses, choking the occupants. Jesse could hear that tone in Hanzo’s voice now, and he almost felt pity for the men who were about to be on the receiving end of that sort of rage. Almost.

A glance in the direction of the following screams revealed that both of the guilty men had arrows sprouting from their knees, sending them tumbling to the ground and immobilizing them.

At that moment, Hana’s mech rocketed in through the arch in the northeast corner, Genji and Angela clinging to it. The former jumped and began taking out the men on the outer fringe off as Hana and Angela joined them in the center.

“Genji!” Hanzo yelled for his brother. The cyborg paused and looked over at Hanzo. “Guide the dragon!” Genji nodded and Hanzo pulled out an arrow, pointing it to the left of his brother. 

“ _Ryū ga waga teki wo kurau!_ ” Hanzo cried, and the twin dragons burst from the path of his air just as Genji’s dragon circled his blade. Jesse watched with more than a little awe as Genji used his dragon to guide Hanzo’s in a circle around them, burning through most of the remaining enemies. Jesse picked off the last few men and turned to Hanzo, but the archer had already darted towards the bush and was holding out a hand to the dog cowering within. It let out a loud whine and backed further into the bush.

“Shhh, shhh, it’s ok. Come here,” Hanzo spoke softly, but the dog didn’t move. The archer frowned and opened up one of the pouches on his belt before pulling out a strip of jerky wrapped in plastic. He fumbled as he opened the packaging and shoved the wrapper back in his bag, holding the jerky towards the dog. Its whining quieted down, replaced by a quiet snuffling, and it crept forward to take the jerky from Hanzo’s hand. It backed away and chewed it up before looking back up hopefully and taking a step out of the bush. Hanzo held out his hand again, and this time the dog exited the bush and stuck its muzzle in Hanzo’s hand, giving it a tentative lick. “Ī ko, ī ko. Good boy.” The dog pushed forward into Hanzo’s chest. The archer began rubbing the dog’s sides down vigorously as it panted and wagged its tail. Jesse blinked.

“Oh,” Genji said quietly from Jesse’s side. Jesse’s head snapped around to look at him.

“What?” he asked.

“I’d forgotten,” Genji said, keeping his voice low so Hanzo wouldn’t hear. Jesse gave him a questioning look. “Takahiro. Hanzo’s dog, growing up.”

“Hanzo had a dog?”

“Yes, when he was young, probably about nine or so. Our father thought it would teach him responsibility, but after Hanzo turned fourteen Sojiro believed he had outgrown it and should not be distracted from learning about his duties.” Genji crossed his arms over his chest, still watching Hanzo. He continued on with a tinge of regret in his voice.  “He passed the dog on to me, but I did not care much for it. They ended up selling it instead. I did not realize how much he had loved that dog until years later, and I hadn’t cared at the time. I’d forgotten until now.”

“Oh,” Jesse said, turning back to look at Hanzo. He was smiling as the dog licked his face.

“Yeah.” Genji seemed to have deflated some. “If I’d tried to take care of it, he could have at least had Takahiro around for a few more years.” Jesse put a hand on Genji’s shoulder.

“Hey now, that wasn’t your fault. What kinda dad takes a dog away from a fourteen year old?” Genji looked up as if to respond, but Jesse cut him off. “Nah. You might’ve been a little dumb, but the dog thing is on Papa Shimada’s shoulders, not yours. Does give me an idea, though.” Jesse ran a thumb along his jawline. “What kind of dog was Takahiro?”

 

\--

 

Winston had made it a point to try and keep their mission schedule light during December. Not everybody on base celebrated Christmas as a holiday in its own right, but the mood tended to be festive anyway, with a big party and gift exchange at the end of the month, just before the new year. Jesse had spent a lot of time picking out gifts for everyone - fancy imported peanut butter for Winston, a few ancient PC games that Hana didn’t have, that sort of thing - but he had definitely spent the most time getting (and hiding) Hanzo’s gift. He had a decoy to give him at the party itself, but the real gift, the one that mattered, was for after. 

It was a good party. He and Hanzo had given up drinking in excess, having had a problem for too long, but they weren’t alone in their sobriety, and it was a perfect time to get blackmail on those who weren’t abstaining. Jesse already had so many fantastic pictures of Fareeha from the karaoke and charades portions of the night that he would never let her live it down. Hanzo already had plenty of blackmail on Genji, but given his brother had little shame, it never hurt to try to land on something that Genji would find suitably embarrassing.

As the night wound down, and more members of the party ended up stumbling back to their rooms or collapsing on the furniture, Jesse and Hanzo drifted closer to each other. When the two of them were half asleep on the other’s shoulder, Jesse figured it was time they headed back to their own quarters. He gently shook Hanzo and helped him off the couch. Hanzo smiled sleepily and slid his hand into Jesse’s, half-leaning on him as they made their way back to their room. There was no conversation as they stripped down to their underwear and fell onto their bed, curling against each other and falling asleep.

Jesse’s alarm woke him and Hanzo up in the morning, but Jesse was quick to lay a hand on Hanzo’s arm. “Just got something to do, darlin’, don’t worry. You go ahead and sleep in a little. I’ll be back in a bit.” Hanzo grumbled out an assent and rolled over, easily falling back asleep. Jesse took a quick shower and dressed before heading out. True to his word, he was back less than fifteen minutes later, knocking lightly on the door.

“Come in.” Hanzo’s words were a bit slurred from speech, but he was awake enough. Jesse opened the door.

“Go on, go in. Good boy!” Hanzo barely had time to register the words above a faint jingling sound before something small and fuzzy barreled into him, yelping loudly. It began licking Hanzo’s face vigorously, getting its slobber all over. Hanzo couldn’t move for shock for a moment before he started laughing and pulling the puppy off of him,wiping his face with his arm.

“Jesse, what is this?” He scratched the puppy’s head and looked up at the gunslinger.

“The timing’s not right, but I got you a real Christmas gift, sugar,” Jesse said, walking over to the bed and sitting on the side so he could pet the puppy too. “I heard you like dogs.”

“What’s his name?” Hanzo asked breathlessly.

“He doesn’t have one yet, but I thought Takahiro might be nice,” Jesse said softly. Hanzo froze and looked up at Jesse, who grinned sheepishly. “Genji told me about him after that mission in Arequipa went sideways. I know this little guy isn’t gonna replace him or anything, but I figured the gesture might mean something. Look, he’s an Akita too! Brindle, just like Takahiro.”

“Jesse…” Hanzo’s voice was almost breathless, and Jesse could see the tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. The archer lunged across the bed to wrap his arms around Jesse and bury his face in the cowboy’s shoulder. Jesse froze for a second before responding, hugging Hanzo and running a hand up and down his back.

“Was this too much? I’m sorry, Han, I thought-” Hanzo pulled away and put a hand on Jesse’s chest, stopping him. 

“No, Jesse, this is… This is perfect. Thank you.” The puppy yelped and pushed between the two men, making them both laugh. Hanzo wiped away a few stray tears. “He’s perfect, but I don’t think Takahiro is a good name for him.”

“What do you got in mind?” Jesse ruffled the fur on the dog’s head.

“Coco. It is a popular dog name in Japan. It means what it sounds like in English, cocoa,” Hanzo said.

“It’s a good name,” Jesse said, giving Hanzo a soft kiss on the cheek. “Merry Christmas, Han.” Hanzo gave him an affectionate look.

“Merry Christmas, Jesse,” Hanzo said softly.


End file.
